New varieties fuel interest in market for spring oats

• Newly listed variety is sought after for quality

• Good performer slots seamlessly into rotation

• Leading UK miller invests to increase capacity

More farmers are growing spring oats – encouraged by new varieties and the crop’s ability to help spread labour and workloads, control blackgrass, and provide a break in arable rotations.

Stronger varieties are coming to the market and are being accepted by major oat mills, says Brin Hughes, agronomy manager at Bedfordshire-based Richardson Milling, which is said to be the second biggest oat miller in Europe.

The oat market has developed dramatically over the last few years and Richardson Milling has increasingly taken in spring oats. But Mr Hughes says historically, older varieties haven’t milled as well.

“Over the last two years with new varieties and improved growing techniques, we have seen much better results with spring oats. Key to this is growers planting earlier – around February – so plants establish well.

Standout variety

Part of the crop’s success is down to
the weather, with oats preferring
moisture when growing. That said,
the quality of available varieties is also improving. They include spring oat Merlin, which is new to the Recommended List.

“We’ve had our eye on Merlin, and last year it did well in trials,” says Mr Hughes. “We got 6t/ha from the harvest, milling quality was over the spec, bushel weight was over 50 kilos which is the level we draw, and screening losses were good, at under 2%.

“A standout characteristic for Merlin is its standing ability – we did see some lodging in the trial with other varieties, but not the Merlin. We need under 30% hulling losses, and Merlin came in at 26%.”

Richardson Milling recently announced plans to increase its milling capacity by upwards of 35%. The company will be taking commercial loads of Merlin this year, as long as it reaches specification, says Mr Hughes.

Early maturity

Arable farmer Luke Palmer had good results in the first year he grew Merlin for seed at Stretham, near Ely. “We drilled late for blackgrass control, and because we followed a later-lifted vegetable crop on the Fen,” he says. 

Mr Palmer planted 16 ha of Merlin in two fields in a trial – one field with an organo-mineral soil and the other ideep peat. Both were drilled on 9 April. The crop averaged 6.2t/ha when it was harvested on 1-2 September.

Blackgrass control is good, the crop has good standing, and it harvested well and relatively early, says Mr Palmer. This enabled him to drill a first wheat afterwards – and the crop can equally be grown behind  late sugar beet or a vegetable crop.

“We’re really pleased with Merlin – and are looking to grow it again this year, ” says Mr Palmer.

Merlin set to cast a spell on growers

New to the Recommended List (RL) ith an enviable combination of yield, quality and disease resistance, Merlin is best described as an all-rounder spring oat variety.

Bred with both millers and farmers in mind, Merlin produces a high yielding, high-quality oat when grown conventionally or organically. Early to mature, it has the lowest screening losses of any spring oat variety and scores 8 for mildew.

Gemma Clarke of agents Cope Seeds and Grain describes Merlin as a standout variety suited to all regions in the UK. It delivers consistency and quality to millers, due to its high specific weight and high kernel content, she says.

“It has the lowest screening losses of any recommended oat varieties. It is one of the highest yielding oat varieties on the recommended list and performs exceptionally well when grown organically or conventionally with good standing ability.”